“This year’s winners include an inspiring group of firms,” says NSCA Executive Director Chuck Wilson. “The competition increases every year, and this year was no exception. Our members are becoming more creative in the methods they use to achieve their business goals. These winners understand the importance of innovative, forward-thinking ideas that encourage growth, financial responsibility, increased revenue, professional development, and marketing.”

NSCA’s Excellence in Business awards honor the following systems integration firms and their efforts to implement new strategies to navigate the constantly changing industry.

• Advance Technology, Excellence in Business award winner in the Marketing Strategies category, developed marketing and promotions plans to support its quick service response (with little investment) for hosted and managed solutions, including access control, surveillance, intrusion alarms, digital signage, and AV systems. The team continuously updates the content on its blogs, website, and social media sites. Its Annual Technology Expo – currently in its fourth year – brings 50 of the industry’s top vendors together to provide educational seminars for current and potential customers. With more than 300 attendees at the event in 2013, it was a remarkable success.

• AVI-SPL, Excellence in Business award winner in the Growth Strategies category, invested in its managed services platform to improve the end-user experience. By introducing complete monitoring capabilities for AV devices without requiring full access to a client’s network, privacy features for video calls, and a scalable, affordable virtual meeting room solution, AVI-SPL broadened its services and solutions. It also expanded its medical specialty team by introducing integrated healthcare solutions for operating rooms, medical collaboration, IP-based monitor care systems, and tele-health.

These innovations help healthcare facilities ensure efficient operations and the best patient care.

• Ford AV, Excellence in Business award winner in the Fiscal Responsibility category, is focused on executing and delivering on the promise to install high-quality systems on time, under budget, and within specifications. Ford AV is selective about the jobs it accepts, making sure the scope fits the team’s capabilities and can be installed correctly, on time, and within budget. It views every job as an independent event that should be profitable. The firm also never misses a billing date, which could impact cash flow. Lastly, Ford AV pays attention to basic operations costs and keeps overhead to a minimum. Through these steps, the company maintains a positive cash flow and builds a cash reserve. As a result, Ford AV is currently working on one of the largest AV projects in the United States after a year-long evaluation process by the customer.

• Human Circuit, Excellence in Business award winner in the Recurring Revenue category, has created an innovation platform in support of recurring revenue. HTML-based control that improves presentation and collaboration system control is also being used to create operating room efficiency in hospitals. ACUMEN, Human Circuit’s newest technology development, offers customers a portable, easy-to-use, point-of-care visual capture and control system that integrates into a hospital’s existing network and clinical information system for online sharing. The technology’s design minimizes costs and maximizes ROI. As a result, Human Circuit has seen a 90% renewal rate in these services.

• Technical Innovation, Excellence in Business award winner in the Professional Development category, added two critical positions to its dynamic base of 280+ employees in 2013: a CTO and Director of Managed Services. These two positions help Technical Innovation encourage its staff to participate in professional development opportunities. Starting with the on-boarding process, Technical Innovation employees have a sense of individual importance. Employees are incentivized to gain and maintain certifications; this not only adds to the employee’s personal satisfaction, but also contributes to the company’s overall value, overall end product, and customer satisfaction.

Award winners each receive one complimentary admission to NSCA’s Business & Leadership Conference, Feb. 27 – March 1 in Dallas. The winners will be recognized during the event. To attend the conference, learn more about NSCA’s Excellence in Business Awards.

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